MAZE OF UNCERTAINTY
by Ballyuk
Summary: AU version of events starting from the wedding reception in 8x10 (Bride) as Clark returns to Smallville having taken care of Doomsday at the Fortress, and removed Brainiac from Chloe with the help of the Legion. He needs some advice and also has some news to share.
1. Dead ends

Author's Note: I do not own the characters. This story tweaks the ending of the episode from the point Doomsday crashes the reception, after which the story goes in a completely different direction to the rest of the series. While I haven't written any of the Chloe/Brainiac aspect here, or Clark's battle with Doomsday, the reader can assume that the events of 8x11 (Legion) and the Doomsday battle still take place, only at the Fortress instead of Smallville and Metropolis. I'm concentrating on the aftermath rather than those events themselves.

* * *

 **MAZE OF UNCERTAINTY.**

* * *

 **Dead ends.**

It was a quiet Sunday morning, bright and sunny outside though there was a slight chill in the autumnal air. Clark stepped through the doors of the Talon with a mixture of excitement and trepidation – more of the latter than the former. The excitement came from looking forward to seeing her again, and the trepidation came from the news he was about to share. Eyeing the staircase leading up to the apartment, he knew it was a case of now or never. After everything that had happened, she deserved to know where he was at in his life. They were best friends and partners, and there was no chance he could keep it all bottled up when such a significant change was afoot. More than that though, he had to see her face just to remove the last memory he had of her before walking out of that hospital.

He knocked on the door of the apartment and took a deep breath.

* * *

 _One month earlier._

During Chloe and Jimmy's wedding reception, a monster had laid waste to the barn, tossing guests around like ragdolls before kidnapping the new bride. Clark could not understand at first why it would do that. It was as though this monster had turned up specifically to take Chloe away. The happy couple's perfect day had turned into their worst nightmare. Jimmy had been left with bruised ribs and a badly broken leg when trying to protect his new wife, swatted aside and into one of the barn's wooden uprights. Lana, while helping the guests to flee the barn, had suffered a deep laceration to her thigh from some falling debris. Those two were the most physically wounded but the guests had steadily been piling into Smallville Medical Center to be treated for little cuts and scrapes. For the majority, the real trauma was in seeing the silhouette of the hulking, spiny, stone-like seven foot beast that had shown up seemingly from thin air, crashing through the roof of the barn before escaping the same way under cover of darkness. The ordeal had lasted less than a minute but the psychological scars would last for years.

Neither Oliver nor Lois had been in the barn at the time of the attack, though both had leapt to the scene when they heard the massive crash and the screaming. Almost immediately, they had busied themselves with the relief effort, hailing the emergency services and helping people outside. They'd been so pre-occupied that it was several minutes before it became apparent that neither Chloe nor Jimmy, or even Clark and Lana, had made their way out of the barn. It was Lois who'd first spotted Jimmy in the gloom lying on the floor, unable to move, his tuxedo shredded in places and his face sporting a number of bruises and lacerations. Lois noticed his left leg lying at an unnatural angle, with evidence of blood staining the tears in the fabric. Despite being in total agony and breathing in ragged gasps, Jimmy's only concern was for Chloe. Lois had tried her best to reassure him but the truth was that she did not know what had happened to Chloe. She knew she had to hide her alarm from Jimmy as his own situation was serious.

Clark had first realised that something was wrong when he could feel the barn begin to shake, but the subsequent power cut and low menacing roar from somewhere outside the barn had begun to make the guests panic and scatter in all directions, desperate to escape. The loud crash after that had only brought sheer bedlam.

He had faced down the beast after seeing Lana get injured, moving through the panicked guests towards the monster. With one swipe of its huge arm, the monster had launched Clark through the loft staircase and sent him crashing into the loft. The impact of being slammed into his desk had caused the contents to spill onto the floor and over him. Amongst these contents was the lead-lined box containing a piece of green kryptonite which tumbled out on the floor in front of him. The close proximity of the dreaded meteor rock immediately incapacitated Clark as the radiation from the alien fragment got to work on his vital organs and his bloodstream. Fortunately for him, Lana had witnessed what had happened and limped up what was left of the staircase to find him. Seeing him lying there in the foetal position writhing in pain, she knew what the problem was. Scanning the floor around him, Lana spotted the green kryptonite and the lead-lined box, instantly reaching down to grab the offending item and conceal it back in its safe place.

Once clear of the radiation, Clark was able to get back up, though not without a little groan of discomfort. The force of the blow by the monster had been so powerful, he would take a moment longer than usual to heal up. Not only that, but it felt as brutal as the fight he'd had a couple of years earlier with the prisoner from the Phantom Zone, Titan. Whatever this thing was, it was not of this Earth. Had another zoner escaped from his last trip to the Phantom Zone? As far as he knew, only the spirit of Faora had made it through, and she had been dealt with already.

Later, having checked in on Lana as she was about to receive treatment for her wounds, he stepped outside the hospital room. Lana had insisted that there was nothing he could do for her, and that his priority should be finding Chloe. It was in Clark's nature to want to make sure she was alright so Lana couldn't deny him that, but her reassurance that her injuries were minor meant that he could now focus on what needed to be done. Jimmy was in surgery to repair his fractured lower leg. X-rays – both by Clark and also the hospital – had confirmed that it was a compound fracture yet relatively clean. Surgery was necessary to put it back together but the healing process could begin almost immediately. Jimmy's other injuries merely required a few stitches. Things could have been so much worse for him.

Clark was about to head right and back down the corridor when he spotted someone to his left in his peripheral vision. The figure in the burnt orange dress was unmistakable, so distinctive had she been at the wedding. Normally so confident and belligerent, right now she looked both worried and crestfallen. Lois was pacing on the spot, seemingly contemplating what she should do next. It was obvious to him that Chloe being missing or worse was at the forefront of her current fragile state, and not knowing where to begin or what to do was a situation that made her uncomfortable, on top of her worries. He approached her quietly and she didn't notice his presence until he spoke up.

"Lois, how're you holding up?" Clark gently asked.

Lois turned to face him, and for the first time he could see the redness in her eyes and the very faintest of twitches in her nose, with her face drained of both colour and strength. She had either already shed some tears or more likely, was straining to maintain her resolve and keep the tears at bay. There was no question she was hurting.

"Jimmy's in a bad way," she answered in a voice that betrayed her attempts to remain resolute.

"The nurse said they had stabilised him and that he's in surgery," Clark confirmed although he knew Lois would be aware of it.

She would almost certainly have been pushing for answers the moment she'd stepped into the hospital having arrived in the ambulance along with Jimmy. Not knowing how or even _if_ she could help with any search for Chloe, she had taken it upon herself to make sure Jimmy would get the care he needed. None of Jimmy's family had made it to his wedding but now that he had tied the knot, Chloe was his family. By extension, that made Lois family too. She would do anything for her family, and she would go even further for Chloe – the one person to whom she felt closest.

"They've already got one of the country's top surgeons in there with him, so he's in good hands," she explained, unable to hide the sadness in her eyes.

Clark nodded. It was so obvious that she needed to be held and told everything would be alright, but she was also the type with whom you would have to tread carefully when contemplating such a gesture because she could so easily consider it to be unwelcome. Accepting such gestures showed signs of weakness and Lois could never accept being seen as weak. He couldn't be sure she would welcome it from him right now. He knew however that his presence was required elsewhere. Oliver had already made plans to bring in Bart, AC, Victor and Dinah to assist in the search for Chloe.

"Lois, Oliver has got in touch with his contacts to try and track Chloe down. I'm going to go with him," he carefully explained.

Lois raised her chin very slightly before lifting her eyes to look into his. There was so much pain behind them, and Clark found that he couldn't look away.

"I'm going to stay here with Jimmy. I'll wait until I hear from...Chloe," Lois announced, her voice now strangled by emotion as she bit her lip. The little pause in that sentence was because she couldn't bring herself to say 'you'. Waiting for Clark to call would only remind her of her heartache. No, it was best to speak to Chloe if and when she was found. Lois had to channel her focus on hearing from Chloe and no-one else.

Clark nodded wordlessly. He knew he had to leave right now but his feet would not allow him to walk away just yet. There were things they each needed to say before he could walk away.

Lois could not contain her emotions any longer. Her voice cracked as the sobs started, her shoulders shaking.

"Why did this have to happen to her?" she begin, a trace of anger beneath the words. "Why do these terrible things keep happening all around us?"

Clark knew she was right. Though she had only come to Smallville a few years ago, Lois had seen so much suffering in that time. It was absolutely true that so many terrible things had happened to the small circle of people she surrounded herself with, not least Chloe. The hard part for him was having to lie to her about his secret and how he was responsible – however indirectly – for all these terrible things she had seen.

He did the only thing he could do, pulling her in for an embrace and holding her close. As he rested his chin lightly on her shoulder, he could feel her face resting on his. She wasn't holding onto him though, numbed by all the pain.

"We have found her before, we will find her again. I promise, we're gonna get Chloe back." He hoped his words would carry with more conviction than he was feeling inside. He needed to reassure himself as much as he needed to reassure Lois.

He could hear and feel Lois begin to sniffle, and he noted the slight shiver as his hand travelled along her arm. It was intended as a comforting gesture but Lois did not sound comforted. No, she sounded broken. Defeated.

"What if we can't?" Lois croaked out, breaking from the embrace and looking him in the face, now openly tearful.

In that moment, Clark realised she was not just talking about Chloe, that there was subtext in her words. The two had shared a romantic moment on the dance floor during the reception before all hell broke loose. Lana had shown up unexpectedly at that very moment, leaving him shocked and causing Lois to back away dejectedly. Right now, he instinctively knew that Lois was also talking about their own lost moment. He had hurt her without meaning to.

He didn't know what to do or say, but Lois took matters into her own hands. She had clearly decided she needed to be away from him. She turned around and began to walk away, and with each step she would rebuild the emotional walls she had allowed Clark to knock down. Showing weakness simply would not do.

Clark did not take his eyes off her. Just before rounding the corner and disappearing from view, she turned to take one last look at him with sad eyes and silent despair, registering the look on his face and believing her chance had gone. She would keep an eye on Jimmy while he recovered. She would hope and pray that Chloe would be found safe and well. After all that, she would focus on tracking down the Red-Blue Blur and gaining that elusive and exclusive interview with Metropolis' newest saviour. Burying her heartache in her job was the tried and trusted way to move on with her life. There was no time to cry over what could have been.

Clark stood there closing his eyes, hanging his head and putting his hands in his pockets once Lois disappeared from view round the corner. The slightest bit of warmth he had felt in her embrace was now replaced by the cool breeze that filtered in through the sliding door at the end of the corridor behind him. The light floral scent of her hair he'd allowed himself to breathe in when hugging her was replaced by that peculiar smell common to hospitals all over the world – a combination of cleaning products, impatience and despair.

In the maze of uncertainty, he was now staring at a dead end.


	2. The way out

**The way out.**

Lois had woken up earlier than usual for a Sunday, intending to head into Metropolis and see how Chloe and Jimmy were getting on. Jimmy was on the mend but was currently housebound. He generally only ventured out to visit the rehab clinic for his physio sessions. The muscles in his left leg had atrophied following his injuries and the extended period of inactivity so the sessions had been designed to build up the strength in his leg once more. The metal brace had been removed from his leg a week ago, replaced by a protective padded cast, so successful had the surgery been. Jimmy was well on the way to a full recovery and hadn't lost his sense of humour, joking with Chloe about her doing her magic thing that had once healed a cut on his finger. All in all, he was coping admirably. The moment his recovery had really taken the fast train was when Chloe walked into his hospital room almost a week after her disappearance. The depression cloud had lifted immediately and was a big reason why he never made a big deal over being cooped up at home all the time. Chloe was safe and with him.

Lois had chosen to dress simply and casually, selecting a plain white tank top, purple hoodie and grey joggers with white sneakers. Her hair was tied into the ponytail she usually wore when going casual. The intention was to head back home later and continue working on researching instances where the Red-Blue Blur was believed to have intervened according to onlookers. She was building up a picture of what this anonymous hero was like. She admired both the good he or she was doing for the city, as well as the lack of self-promotion. This hero was in it to be an anonymous beacon of hope, not to feed his or her ego.

She was just putting some paperwork away and closing her laptop while sipping what was left of her third coffee of the morning when she heard a knock at the door. Not expecting company, she called out to whoever it was that the door was open. The voice at the door caused her to turn around with a start.

"Hi Lois."

Clark was dressed in blue jeans, with a long-sleeved light grey t-shirt beneath a short-sleeved dark grey one. He was holding his navy jacket in his right hand. Lois looked at his face, seeing the last vestiges of the dark circles that had been around his eyes for the best part of a month. He looked like someone who had a million and one thoughts whirling around inside their head with no way to decipher their meaning. The square shoulders were stooped ever so slightly, only noticeable to somebody who usually saw him standing tall and proud. He remained at the threshold, waiting and hoping to be invited in.

"Clark!" she uttered, surprised.

They stood there, no more than about 15 feet apart, and yet it felt like a chasm between them. The tension was palpable.

"I...uh, I wasn't expecting to see you," Lois finally said, keen to fill the silence and break the tension.

Clark used the moment to drink Lois in. She'd looked so sexy at the wedding when all dressed up in her orange number, and he thought she still looked sexy now even though she was apparently 'slumming it' in joggers. He could not help but notice the colour that had returned to her cheeks, a far cry from when he last saw her at the hospital, drained of colour. He no longer saw devastation in her hazel eyes. Instead, it was a combination of curiosity and nervousness.

"Yeah, I was on my way home and thought I should stop by."

Lois felt herself becoming flustered by the presence of the man who'd broken her heart. She began to babble, busying herself with tidying up the kitchen counter she'd already tidied up. Anything to not look at his face or show the hurt.

"Chloe's been staying at Jimmy's place to get some quality time in with the husband. So if you're looking for her, you need to detour over to Metropolis."

Clark stepped further into the apartment, closing the door behind him. The distance between them was now little more than 5 feet. Lois instinctively backed up a pace.

"Yeah. I've spoken to Chloe and Jimmy, and I'm glad he's on the mend. It's actually you I've come to see, Lois," he cautiously explained.

"Oh," she squeaked. She kicked herself inside for letting him get to her once again.

Clark's eyes were pleading. "I know we haven't spoken in weeks, but I got tied up trying to handle a family matter."

"Yeah. When I spoke to your mom, she mentioned that you'd had to go to Poughkeepsie. She didn't say what for but she did mention something about your uncle. I take it whatever it was is now sorted out?"

Clark's shoulders relaxed, so he made his way over to the fireplace, looking at nothing in particular as he answered.

"Something like that. The time away from the farm and away from work gave me time to think too, but something's come up and I need advice." He turned to face her, pointedly adding, "I thought _you_ were the best person to talk to."

"Why me?" she asked, curiosity now completely replacing the nervousness.

He smiled weakly. "You always seem to know the right thing to say, in a weird way. I value your opinion, Lois. I also came to see how you were."

Lois went back to being unnerved as Clark continued to look at her. She wondered if he'd even blinked, so intense was his gaze. She detected that whatever it was, it was troubling him and had probably been troubling him for quite some time.

"I'm fine. Work keeps me busy." Then, because she was Lois and not given to infinite patience, she demanded in a neutral tone that he tell her why he was here. "OK, well spill it, Smallville. What happened while you were away?"

This was it. The moment he would have to reveal the truth. He couldn't lie to her. Not after everything they'd been through. He owed her the truth. Still, super-powered or not, he could feel his mouth getting drier. He'd gone over this conversation in his head so many times but now it was actually happening, he was struggling to get the words out in the way he had imagined.

"I uh…I _think_ I fell in love."

Lois blinked in shock. "You _think_?"

"That's just it. What I feel about this girl is different to anything I've felt for anybody else. She's special, unique."

Now he'd gone down this path, he felt it best to continue. Lois interrupted him before he could expand on the issue so he let her say whatever it was she had to say. It could well inform whatever he was going to say next. She was bound to ask who this new girl in his life was, wasn't she?

"You either are or you aren't, Smallville," began Lois on an insistent note as she stepped into the living room and stood by the end of the couch. "There is no in-between. You know for sure when the other person becomes all you can think about. They become the centre of your world. Thinking about them puts a smile on your face. Being with them puts an extra spring in your step."

She surprised herself with the words that came out so readily, and was suddenly aware that they could be construed as a personal view based on experience. Hugging herself, she opted to clarify in the hope that Clark wouldn't pick up the same insinuation behind the words that she just did.

"Uh...at least that's what books, movies and TV will tell you."

"In that case, I guess I am," Clark sighed.

At that, Lois was now absolutely certain that her chance of something more with _her_ Smallville was gone. He had already moved on, or maybe moved back to the familiar.

"Oh. Well that was fast. You've only known this girl for a month and yet you're in love?"

"It's not like that, Lois. I've known her for a lot longer than a month. I've known her for years."

Lois was now sure that he was talking about moving back to the familiar. The Clark-Lana rollercoaster was set for another go-around. He and Lana had never got any real closure when things ended between them last time. Lois remembered how crushed Clark was when seeing the DVD Lana had left him. He'd felt as though his last chance at true happiness had gone. Whatever Lois had felt about the Clark-Lana relationship – and she had a few misgivings – it was not pleasant to have to face the end of a long-term relationship. Lois knew Clark was not someone given to flings and rebounds. He was somebody who would cling to a relationship in the hope of having the sort of lasting commitment that his parents had had before his father's life had been so cruelly cut short. Still, she could only gulp out one name as she waited for the inevitable.

"Lana?"

It was Clark's turn to look incredulous. Were his Lana blinkers _that_ strong?

"What? No...Lana and I are through. Honestly, we were through long before she fell into her coma. Her being in a coma had just delayed the inevitable. You were there when I watched her video. I was upset but at the same time, it was liberating. I had to break away from Smallville, the farm and the life I knew. Taking the job at the Daily Planet was the right move, and one I've never regretted."

"Lana was there at the reception," she noted.

Clark sighed. "She was, and we talked briefly during the reception, and again at the hospital. She'd been hurt when that…thing…attacked the guests. She told me she would head back to Africa where she was working with a relief mission. We parted amicably and I hope she finds happiness with whatever she does. We will always remain good friends but Lana and I are over."

Lois mulled it over. Clark's tone certainly gave it an air of finality but where Lois should have felt a sense of hope, there was still the issue of this mystery woman whom Clark had fallen for over the past few weeks. She resigned herself into believing that whatever sexual tension there had been between them at the wedding was now merely the romantic haze that wedding days sometimes bring rather than the beginnings of something more. Those feelings had to be locked away in the box marked 'Do Not Open'.

She knew she had to play it cool. While she wanted Clark to be happy in his personal life, she would have no part in it other than the status quo of good friend and work colleague. "So, this new love of your life - what's she like?"

Clark moved over and sat on the edge of the couch. He wanted to be careful with his words. "Well, she works in a fairly high-profile position. She's really passionate about her job and really good at it too."

Lois thought it to be a vague answer but stayed quiet. A high-profile position? Perhaps this woman was a politician introduced to him by his mom. Maybe she was a celebrity. Saying that, were there any celebrities living out in Poughkeepsie? She hoped Clark would elaborate.

"She's beautiful, with the most amazing smile I have ever seen. I feel more like myself when I'm with her than when I'm with anybody else. I was with Lana on and off for years but I never felt this way. I once thought I had this with Alicia but I realised that what I felt for her was more down to circumstance than something that might stand up in the long term."

"Uh huh," replied Lois flatly. She could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces. This time it was painfully slow, like death by a thousand cuts.

Clark wasn't done. His lips curved upwards into a smile. "When I'm with her, I am the best version of myself. She makes me feel like everything is going to be OK. She makes me feel like I belong. I would do anything to make her happy."

 _Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut..._

Lois watched him as he stared at the wall opposite, still smiling wistfully. Obviously he was picturing the new love of his life. She quietly raised her hand to her face and closed her eyes, trying desperately to stop her nose from twitching and the tears from falling. She caught the sob in her throat before the sound came out. He would never ever be _her_ Smallville. It was now that she knew what Chloe had felt like when growing up. Here was this incredible guy who was unattainable and only had eyes for someone else. Being friend-zoned by Clark Kent was a painful experience. Still, she had to say something.

"How did you realise that she was the one for you?" It was almost a whisper.

"It wasn't any one thing, just lots of little things. Do you remember Maxima?"

Recalling Clark mentioning the name, Lois' eyes went wide and she couldn't help but release a chuckle. In the middle of his revelation, Clark had somehow managed to bring some levity to proceedings with a statement right out of left-field.

"The nympho meteor freak? Don't tell me she's the one!" Lois laughed.

Clark shook his head, chuckling softly. Trust Lois to come out with that. "No she's definitely _not_ the one! She told me she was my soulmate. When I told you about it afterwards, you said that I would know my soulmate had come along when the right girl walked into my life. You were right, because that's what has happened here."

Lois' mood reverted back to being depressed and heartbroken. Clark had found his soulmate and was going to live happily ever after. It dawned on Lois that he had yet to mention the love of his life by name. He hadn't exactly been evasive about it, but she also realised that she hadn't asked her name either. Not that it mattered because they were bound to be introduced sooner or later. Lois didn't care to know the name of the woman who'd stolen Clark's heart.

"Soulmate huh?" she again whispered. This one sounded like it had stuck in her throat.

Clark was again looking at the wall opposite. "I think she is. When you realise you need that other person just as much as they need you, and that you are both better versions of yourselves when you're together, I'd say that qualifies for soulmate status, right?"

He turned to face her raising his eyebrows as though expecting her to answer. She did, avoiding eye contact and staring at the coffee table in front of her. This was like torture now. Clark was telling her all the wonderful things about some girl he knew and it was as if the romantic interlude at the wedding hadn't happened. Was he blind? Was he just an idiot? What advice did he want from her anyway?

"Yeah I guess it does. But Clark, what advice do you need from me? It sounds like you've already made your decision. Are you looking to be talked out of it?"

"No," he answered. "I just wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing. Like I said before, I value your opinion."

Her opinion was that he was a clueless fool for not noticing or acknowledging what was there in front of him. She wanted to retreat into her shell and fire barbs at him angrily but something about his demeanour held her back. She could tell there was more to the story, but how to reply? Maybe it was time for levity again.

"Doing the right thing? Wait, you were in Poughkeepsie helping your uncle. Oh god! You don't have the hots for your cousin do you? Because that would be beyond weird."

Clark practically fell off the edge of the couch, slumping right into the seat having been completely thrown by Lois' comment. How on earth did she reach some of her conclusions?

"What? NO! Lois!" he cried vehemently, earning a shrug from Lois as she smirked. This was the closest she had felt to things returning to normal. Teasing Clark and getting a rise out of him were sport. Familiar ground. A safe way to hide her emotions.

She stood up, hands on hips, ready to chew him out and tell him to get over himself. If what he was saying was correct, he had moved on with his life and found the perfect person for him. It was highly likely that she would be moving to Smallville or Metropolis pretty soon. He looked up at her, jolted by her sudden movement, and his face took on a look that was pleading for understanding. Somehow, she needed to confirm that if he really felt this way, there was only one thing to do. She wasn't prepared to wait for the small possibility that she could have something with him one day when he was talking about this other girl in such glowing terms.

"Look Clark, if this is how you feel...how you _both_ feel...then all I can tell you is that you should go for it. I'd want any guy I'm with to be confident and decisive otherwise what's the point? You're just a plane stuck in a holding pattern."

"Or walking inside a maze full of dead ends and no way out, right?" Clark nodded to himself.

"Something like that."

"You're right. I should act on it." Almost immediately, he became nervous and unsure once again. His head drooped, and Lois noticed it.

She sighed resignedly, shutting her eyes. They had only been talking for a few minutes, but it felt like hours and she was feeling weary now. His confession had hit her for six, adding to her tiredness. He had come to her, explained the situation in a roundabout way and asked for advice. She had suggested he go for it, believing that he merely wanted reassurance that he was doing the right thing.

What was troubling her was that Clark almost seemed pained about it. Maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all. Maybe he knew he had hurt her feelings at the wedding reception. Maybe he knew she would retreat behind her emotional walls and not wish to make a big deal out of it, to cover her heartache and humiliation. Maybe he knew she would change the subject if he even hinted at bringing up what happened that night. Maybe he knew her too well. Maybe he actually knew her better than anybody.

She would have to accept that her role in his life was to be one of his closest confidants. She could live with that, as Chloe had. Remaining a part of his life was the important thing. She would rather have him as a friend than not have him at all. Right now though, Clark was sitting there full of doubt, almost as if he'd been rejected after opening his heart for this mystery woman. Is that what the problem was here?

"Clark, does she know all of this? Have you told her?"

"Yes."

So it was confirmed that Clark's new girlfriend knew how strongly he felt for her.

"And what did she say? She'd better have given you an answer and not left you hanging. I mean, you've put yourself _way_ out there and-"

At that, Clark stood up and looked Lois in the eye with his trademark puppy dog eyes. They were more effective on her than she'd ever dared to admit. He cut in to break off her babbling.

"Well...uh, I'm hoping that she will give me her answer in the next few seconds."

The small but subtle raising of his eyebrows rammed home the point, causing Lois to gasp involuntarily. She raised a hand to her chest, eyes widening with understanding and her mouth open. Her brain was quickly processing everything she had learned in the past few minutes. As bombshells go, this was a biggie.

Lois was unable to utter a sound. She could feel her legs about to buckle from beneath her and the room begin to spin, so she shifted closer to the end of the couch just so her leg was in contact with something that would help keep her upright. If she were to buckle, at least it would be onto the couch and not the floor or the coffee table.

Clark stepped forward to close the space between them, and Lois mouthed a silent 'Me?' as she tilted her head up to look him in the eye. His face broke out into a soft smile as he nodded in affirmation. His eyes were dancing as he cupped her cheek, closing the gap between them completely and leaning in to do what he'd not quite managed to do at the reception.

He had negotiated his way through the maze of uncertainty and found a way out into a world of new possibilities.

* * *

 **FIN.**


End file.
